Completely change course, in business jargon / WED 12-31-25 / Gathering for this puzzle's attendees / Cry of loyalty in old France / One-named performer known as "Mr. Showmanship" / Stipulation for some keto dieters / Engine stat, in brief / Book reviewer, for short / Marketplace of ancient Greece / Veil worn by Muslim women

Constructor: Jeffrey Martinovic

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: "Gathering for this puzzle's attendees"— This is the clue for four theme answers; the "attendees" are just the squares in the puzzle—every theme answer is a "gathering" involving a word for "square":

Theme answers:

• SQUARE DANCE (19A: Gathering for this puzzle's attendees)
• CELL RECEPTION (35A: Gathering for this puzzle's attendees)
• BOX SOCIAL (43A: Gathering for this puzzle's attendees)
• BLOCK / PARTY (61A: With 63-Across, gathering for this puzzle's attendees)

Word of the Day: Council of TRENT (25D: Site of a historic council) —

The Council of Trent (Latin: Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most impressive embodiment of the ideals of the Counter-Reformation." It was the last time a Catholic ecumenical council was organized outside the city of Rome, and the second time a council was convened in the territory of the Holy Roman Empire (the first being the Council of Constance).

The Council issued key statements and clarifications of the Church's doctrine and teachings, including scripture, the biblical canon, sacred tradition, original sin, justification, salvation, the sacraments, the Mass, and the veneration of saints and also issued condemnations of what it defined to be heresies committed by proponents of Protestantism. The consequences of the council were also significant with regard to the Church's liturgy and censorship. (wikipedia)

• • •

Trying desperately to figure out how CELL RECEPTION isn't a fatal flaw. The other "gatherings" are ... actually gatherings. Real names for real events where people get together and have a good time. Whereas CELL RECEPTION refers to the strength of your mobile phone signal. It's not an event at all. What am I missing? Is CELL RECEPTION a variety of party that I just don't know about? A party in prison, maybe? It just doesn't make any sense in this puzzle, where all the other themers are real parties. Those parties cohere so nicely as a set. And then you've got CELL RECEPTION flung down in here like ... like, I don't know what? Like it wants to be the revealer, maybe, but the puzzle doesn't need one ... and then so instead of leaving because it's not needed, CELL RECEPTION just decided to stick around. It's really the fly in the soup today. I mean, if the theme had involved making puns, changing the meaning of the second word in the phrase, you might have something. But today's wordplay involves reimagining the first words, the "boxes," not the parties. CELL RECEPTION is not an actual type of gathering and therefore has absolutely no business being in this grid.

 I probably should've made BOX SOCIAL my Word of the Day, since that will be the least familiar type of "gathering" today, I think. I've been to block parties and I've at least seen square dances in movies, but I don't really know much about BOX SOCIALs. They feel old-fashioned. Like sock hops, but older, and with less dancing. So, not very much like sock hops at all. Merriam-Webster Dot Com tells me that a BOX SOCIAL is "a fund-raising affair at which box lunches are auctioned to the highest bidder." Wiktionary has a somewhat more detailed definition: "A fundraising event in which boxes are decorated and filled with meals for two (traditionally by women) and others (traditionally men) bid on them, anticipating a meal with the preparer." This makes it seem kinda creepy, like the women rather than the lunches are being auctioned off. Whatever the precise meaning, BOX SOCIAL seems like it has less currency in 2025 (soon to be 2026) than the other "gatherings," but it fits the theme perfectly. Really, truly, three of these themers are right on the mark. Shame about that fourth one.

The fill had highs and lows. LIBERACE MANSCAPED is a complete sentence that I would totally believe. "Did he? ... yeah, I can see that." "VIVE LE ROI!" is something I can imagine an enthusiastic French audience shouting at LIBERACE (9D: Cry of loyalty in old France + 36D: One-named performer known as "Mr. Showmanship"). Did anyone ever call LIBERACE "PAPA BEAR" (4D: Fairy tale character with a hard bed)? Seems plausible. Anyway, I like this puzzle's LIBERACEness—very festive, perfect for the occasion (which seems to be a New Year's Eve party, what with this being New Year's Eve and there being balloons and party hats all over the grid). GETS COMFY is also a nice longer answer. I don't like IDLE CHAT because the phrase is "idle chatter." It really is. Googles much better. Shows up on the first page of hits when you try to search "IDLE CHAT." I see that "IDLE CHAT" is a phrase that exists, that people sometimes say, but all it does is make me think of the real phrase, which is idle chatter. NO CARBS is an absurdity, as there is no surviving as a human without some carbs (22A: Stipulation for some keto dieters). The fill gets real ugly in the SW, which is where I finished up, unfortunately—never good to close on a low note. Ugly "a" phrase (ADAB) next to prefix (MILLI) next to absurd plural (NOGOS) two doors down from EKE. Rough stuff. The rest holds up OK.

I had a slow start because I absurdly wrote in MAC for 1A: Big name in pickup trucks (RAM) and then crossed it with MPG at 1D: Engine stat, in brief (RPM). This meant that 16A: Smaller than small (MINI) looked like it was going to be ... GIGA, a prefix that is very much not "small." I also botched the spelling of NIQAB, though that's more predictable and less embarrassing, somehow (13D: Veil worn by Muslim women). I think I conflated NIQAB and HIJAB and ended up with NIJAB? Something like that. The NIQAB extends the concept of HIJAB (head covering) to the face. Will I remember this distinction? Who knows!?

Bullets:

• 30A: Marketplace of ancient Greece (AGORA) — I'm not normally that happy to see AGORA in the grid (it's crosswordese of the highest order), but today, since I imagine the AGORA as a public square, I kinda like the fact that it's here, sitting pride of place, nearly dead center. Guest of honor at all the various square dances. 
• 17A: Completely change course, in business jargon (PIVOT) — a perfectly good word—why steer the clue into "business jargon"? No one wants to think about that.

• 38D: Word fittingly evoked by the phrase "Together everyone achieves more" (TEAM) — turns TEAM into an acronym
• 60D: Book reviewer, for short (CPA) — "Book" in the singular is sort of weird here, since accounting records are almost always "books," but OK, sure [Book reviewer]. Just watched a great film noir about a CPA (unlikely, but true!). Joan Crawford works her way up from poverty to a life of glamour by charming, exploiting, and discarding a series of men, the first of whom is a mousy CPA whom she convinces to become the accountant for a mob boss. Her fortunes get better from there, until, of course, inevitably they get much much worse. The movie in question costars Kent Smith as the mousy CPA, David Brian as mob boss Nick Castleman, and Steve Cochran as a west coast mobster trying to break away from east coast leadership. The movie's title?—one of the pulpiest of all time: The Damned Don't Cry (it's on HBO Max but might be leaving tomorrow, so why not watch it today? I can think of worse ways to spend New Year's Eve) 

Time now for more 🌲🐈Holiday Pet Pics🐕🌲! Note: PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME ANY MORE PET PICS, I'M ALL FULL UP FOR THIS YEAR, thank you.

Usually you hang lights on the tree, not the dogs, but Ruby and Poppy are happy to indulge your weird lighting fantasies ...

[Thanks, Jennifer!]

This one is entitled "Orion with visions of sugarplums." Probably actually "Orion sees a squirrel," but you gotta have some imagination. 

[Thanks, Judy!]

OK, this photo is fooling no one, Maggie, but since you went through the trouble of trying to Christmasify your dog, and since your dog is so adorable, I'll allow it. Buffy is a classroom dog! They have classroom dogs now? I never had a classroom dog. I want a classroom dog. All classrooms should have dogs. "As Provost, I will..."

[Thanks, Maggie!]

Kyoshi would prefer that you back up a step or two or twelve.

[Thanks, Thomas!]

And finally, a pair of more and less successful pet photo shoots. First there's Olive, seen here in her puppy days, posing sassily for the camera (RIP sweet Olive, who died earlier this month).

And then there's Moxie, who will not willingly participate in whatever you have planned. The look of betrayal on her face. "How could you?"

[Thanks, Hannah!]

See you next time. Have a fun, safe, happy New Year's Eve.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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Fizzled out completely / TUES 12-30-25 / Fun word to shout into a canyon / Oblong tomato type / "Absolument!" / Climactic fight in a video game

Hi, everyone, it’s Clare for the last Tuesday of December — and the last Tuesday of 2025! Hope that everyone has had a happy holiday season and that everyone has a great start to their new year. I’ve been lounging around and baking a lot, watching sports a lot, working (a little), and reading as much as I can. Goodreads gave me a year-end review, and I’ve apparently read (or listened to) 127 books this year — so I guess I know what I’ve been doing in my free time! The books have certainly helped take my mind off the fact that my sports teams have been a bit dismal lately. Even if my Steelers squeak into the playoffs, they’d probably lose in the first game (again). 

Anywho, on to the puzzle…

Constructors: Geoffrey Schorkopf and Will Eisenberg

Relative difficulty: Medium (for a Tuesday)

THEME: BUY A VOWEL (60A: Spend money on "Wheel of Fortune" ... which won't help much for solving 17-, 21-, 36-, 41- and 53-Across!) — The circled letter in each theme answer is the only vowel present… and they appear in sequential order

Theme answers:

• LGBTQ FLAG (17A: Something to wave with pride?) 
• WENT PFFT (21A: Fizzled out completely) 
• BMX TRICKS (36A: Flashy cycling maneuvers) 
• NBC SPORTS (41A: "Sunday Night Football" producer) 
• PR STUNTS (53A: They're pulled to garner media attention, informally)

Word of the Day: RODIN (39A: "The Thinker" sculptor) —

François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 1840 – 17 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a unique ability to model a complex, turbulent, and deeply pocketed surface in clay. He is known for such sculptures as The Thinker, Monument to Balzac, The Kiss, The Burghers of Calais, and The Gates of Hell… The Thinker is a bronze sculpture depicting a nude male figure of heroic size, seated on a large rock, leaning forward, his right elbow placed upon his left thigh, with the back of his right hand supporting his chin in a posture evocative of deep thought and contemplation. This universally recognized expression of "deep thought" has made the sculpture one of the most widely known artworks in the world. (Wiki)

• • •

And now… I’d like to solve the puzzle. 

This was a nicely executed theme with a cute revealer. I liked being able to look back at the puzzle and see the progression of the vowels, and I can appreciate the effort that went into finding so many theme answers that only had one vowel. That said, answers with only one vowel can look pretty strange. WENT PFFT (21A) is a seriously ugly answer. BMX TRICKS (36A) looks odd, too. And the other theme answers didn’t inspire me much. I also initially wondered why they chose not to make it the LGBTQIA flag (17A), then realized that would’ve had too many vowels. 

There was some nice longer fill. I liked AUSPICIOUS (9D: Like good omens) and SQUALL (13D: Sudden, powerful gust of wind). The clue for SEA BED (44A: Wet floor?) was really clever (once I finally got it). I found DROOL (33A: [That looks delicious …]) for some reason to be a fun clue/answer combo. And the world needs more GLITTER (8D: Hard-to-clean-up sparkly stuff). I got BOSS BATTLE (27D: Climactic fight in a video game) because I listened to the audiobook for “Dungeon Crawler Carl,” whose narrator does amazing voices and which made me laugh, so that was a fun callback. 

I didn’t know EDWIN (50D: Scientist Hubble with a telescope named after him) but was able to get the “w” from VOWEL (60A) and figured the rest out from there. I hadn’t heard the expression “And SO TO bed” (4D), so that looked very strange to me. ISOLA (19A: Sardinia, e.g., to Sardinians) made me pause. “Isle” and “isla” are common enough, but I didn’t know the Italian word for “island.” And I’ve never heard of the KARA Sea (46D: arm of the Arctic Ocean) before. I looked it up, and if my sources are accurate, KARA has only appeared in the Will Shortz era of the puzzles 12 times, including today. Only three of those appearances clued it as the KARA Sea — once in a Friday, once in a Sunday, and now once in a Tuesday puzzle. All that to say, I needed the crosses to get the word (which luckily weren’t too hard). 

Some of the rest of the fill was a letdown. Like having 40A and 45A both as "That’s not good!" — as OH NO and YIKES, respectively. As Rex says, if you have bad fill, don’t draw attention to it by doing things like doubling up on clues. And, as I’ve often said, I hate clues that are so ambiguous they could have a bunch of answers. XES IN (37D: Marks, as a ballot square) also looked particularly bad (though I understand the need for the X there). And the clue for SMILE (62A: Upside-down frown) really had me frowning.

Misc.:

• One of the gifts I got for Christmas from my parents was PJS (53D: Nightwear, informally) — or, rather, a PJ top. My mom didn’t realize the pieces were sold separately, so I will get the bottoms later. 
• I was talking with my dad and sister about the puzzle, and ELIDE (64A: Skip over, in speech) produced a funny family moment. While we were all sitting on the couch,, my sister said the word correctly, and my dad insisted she was wrong — e-LEED, he said. She told him he was often wrong about pronunciation, so he pulled up the internet to prove her wrong, and… she was right. 
• In the spirit of a year-end review, here are my top five books of the year, if you’re curious (in no particular order except the first one) — “The Everlasting” by Alix E. Harrow, “The Raven Scholar” by Antonia Hodgson, “Malice” by Keigo Higashino, “Hungerstone” by Kat Dunn, and “Blood Over Bright Haven” by M. L. Wang. Maybe you could find something to enjoy in there in 2026! 
• And finally, shoutout to Cooper’s owner, whom I met at a dog park in D.C. and who recognized Red from the crossword and asked me, “Is your name by chance ‘Clare’?” Cooper is a very cute doggo! And because I can’t end the year without another picture of my puppy, here’s Red at the beach on Christmas Eve.

I look forward to seeing you all in the new year!

Signed, Clr Crrll (who didn’t have enough money to buy a vowel)

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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